Words by Eddie STATS Houghton

On Labor Day 2010, four filmmakers–Sam Flesichner (Wah Do Dem), Tony Lowe (Cool Places Soundsystem), Wills Glasspiegel (Afropop Worldwide) and Olivia Wyatt (Swinging Addis)–picked up four cameras, synchronized their watches and set out to document the West Indian Labor Day Parade AKA Brooklyn Carnival. Or, in their own words, they “followed the ebb and flow of ritual, dance and celebration for over 30 straight hours.” The end result of that cinematic marathon is Below the Brain, an “experimental documentary” on Carnival that premieres tomorrow (Friday 9/2) as part of an “Island Film Week” (curated by Lowe) taking place at Spectacle Theater and BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn (flyer and full schedule at bottom). It’s not yet clear from the trailer–a visceral, choppy and sometimes dissonant immersion in the Carnival experience (watch below)–how this experiment will fit into the festival line-up of mostly unavailable Caribbean culture films, including gems like Ghosts of Cité Soleil and The Land of Look Behind. Read on for an extensive conversation with Tony Lowe and Wills Glasspiegel about the creative process behind both. One thing emerges from all the mud and electro-acoustic distortion fairly clearly: Below the Brain, much like Carnival itself, will grab you by the bumpa and not let go.